Marine re-enlists at grave of fallen friend

Jan. 14, 2013 - 01:41PM
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Last Updated: Jan. 14, 2013 - 01:41PM |

Marine Corps Sgt. Jonathan Diehm, left, and Travis Verbeek, the father of Visalia native Cpl. Jared Verbeek, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan, embrace near his grave on Saturday. Diehm re-enlisted there Saturday. Captain Greg Kosh, who was Cpl. Verbeek's platoon commander and was with him when he was killed, performed the re-enlistment. Verbeek's sisters Ashley Verbeek, right, and Adrienna Masiel are in the background. (Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta)

Verbeek died June 21, 2011, from wounds he suffered after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

He was 22 and left behind a wife and an 18-month-old son.

Diehm, who has served five years in the Marine Corps and re-enlisted for another four, accepted his re-enlistment certificate from Marine Capt. Greg Kosh, Verbeek's platoon commander and the man who was with him when he was killed.

The solemn ceremony was brief and emotional for many of the people gathered on the cold afternoon at the Visalia District Cemetery.

As the two Marines faced each other, right arms raised, some observers wiped away tears.

Newly sworn in, Diehm told the small group of people watching, "This is not about me and my re-enlistment. I could have done this anywhere. It's an honor for me to be here."

Friendship, common goals

Diehm, 23, said he met Verbeek in 2008 when they were assigned to their first duty station where they trained together to become military police officers.

Both of them enlisted soon after graduating from high school in 2007, Verbeek in Visalia and Diehm in Christiansburg, Va.

"He was the only one I could talk to about making a career of the military," said Diehm, who is stationed at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. He said he and Verbeek talked often about life in the Marines and found they shared the same goals.

When Verbeek was killed on patrol while deployed in Afghanistan, he had already earned one Purple Heart. He was awarded a second one posthumously.

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"I want to continue my career for the both of us," Diehm said.

Family of Marines

When Diehm asked Kosh to administer the re-enlistment oath, Kosh said he did not hesitate.

He told the observers, "There's a lot to that oath; it symbolizes service to country, the commitment of individual service and service to our fellow brothers in arms. It's why we join."

Andrew MacDonald, a childhood friend of Verbeek's, was the one who spread the word to Verbeek's friends about the ceremony.

MacDonald, a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, though not with the two friends, said that each time Diehm has been promoted, he has returned to Verbeek's grave site to pay his respects and to visit his family.

"It's touching the way these guys reach out to each other," MacDonald said.

Kosh, who is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., said Diehm's choice to take his oath at Verbeek's grave was unique but in keeping with military camaraderie.

"I have found that in the Marine Corps, these guys are my brothers," he said.

Verbeek's father, mother and two sisters attended the ceremony and were overcome with emotion from the showing of support. His sister, Ashley, said, "These guys stick by us even when we're at our worst, like during the holidays. They stand with us in our pain."